Title - Written By The Victors
Chapter title - The Twelve Towers
Author - OblivionsGarden
Genre - Romance/Adventure/Friendship/Drama
Disclaimer - I do not own the Uncharted Series in anyway shape or form. I only own the plot points surrounding my oc's, not recognized from the games. For this chapter I own, Penny Kingsley.
Chapter Word Count - 2848 words.
A/n - Please leave a review, I'd greatly appreciate it. Hope you enjoy, xx (:
"Two beers, one whiskey and one rum and coke, for the lady." Sam placed each drink down on the table as the group sat around to enjoy the still warm, evening air.
They had landed in Madagascar in the early evening and decided to dump their bags in their respective rooms before heading down to the hotel bar. The evening consisted of stories of past adventures, laughter, jokes and everyone getting increasingly more inebriated. Penny was slumped low in her chair as she used a straw to stir her drink. Her vision was hazy but she once again found herself captured by Sam and his tattoo. She barely heard the conversation until Sam caught her eye and shot her a wink. She forced herself to sit up properly and to pay attention, quickly realizing that Sully had been eyeing the bar maid.
"Sully, you're getting on in years. You sure you can still get it going?" Sam teased.
"I'm doing just fine buddy." Sully's chuckle was low and throaty. "I'm young where it counts. How were the past fifteen years anyway? Celibate, no doubt."
"Hellish." Sam groaned, leaning his head back as the others shared a laugh. "But I got by on my own."
"Well, I'm never shaking your hand again." Nate grimaced and Penny snorted. "Perks of being a married man, boys. Having it on tap."
"Not when your wife finds out the truth." Penny mumbled. "You won't be getting any for a looong time."
Nate grumbled a little, fighting to think of a swift change of direction. "What about you shortie? When did you last get laid?"
Penny smiled, sinking lower in her seat as she drained the last of her drink until her straw made that horrible sucking noise she found so irritating. She made to stand up, wobbling a little but managing to pull her room key from her pocket.
"Don't leave cause the attentions on you." Nate teased. "Has it been a while?" She took a second to find her balance before she turned away. "Jesus, how long was it?"
"None of your business." She pouted.
"Well, you're only twenty four so it can't have been that long, surely... Penny?" Nate seemed stumped at her lack of answer until she turned to look at him.
"It's been about twenty four years." She turned and unsteadily made her way towards her room.
"Twenty four... But that... You mean you've never had-" Sully hit Sam's arm to shut him up. "She's more innocent than I thought she was."
The bright rays of the sun burning down on Penny's back were doing nothing for her second hangover of this trip. She mentally scolded herself for allowing herself to get so drunk the night previous. She barely remembered anything after their debate about the greatest female pirate. (Anne Bonny or Ching Shih.) She had a vague notion of sitting outside of her room for a long time until Nathan found her and helped her to find her way to bed. Other than that she had nothing except a brain trying to force it's way out through her eye sockets and a tongue as dry as the dirt roads they were driving on.
When Nate stopped driving so Victor could check his phone for directions, she lifted her sunglasses from her face and pulled out a small bottle of sunscreen from her bag. She was the only one who had thought to bring such previsions but she figured since she was so fair and so used to the indoors, she'd be the only one to need it anyway. Sam had spent fifteen years in Panama for Gods sake, she was pretty certain he was used to the sun by now.
She offered the bottle to the other regardless but none of them took it, instead they hopped into the car, ready to head straight to the volcano.
"Wish I'd brought some shades with me." Sam commented, tapping the side of her Raybans.
"I'd share with you but uh... I don't want to." She gave him a smug smile before turning her attention to the landscape, digging back into her bag to retrieve her camera.
"When did you pack that?" Sam frowned as she begun snapping pictures.
"I always take my camera. That's why it's so battered... This is like the twelfth lens I've had too. I should really buy a hard case for it." Twisting in her seat she aimed the camera at Sam who held his hand up in front of his face.
"Hey, don't you dare. I'm not the photogenic one."
"You're plenty photogenic, put your hand down."
She reached forward, pulling his arm down into his lap only for him to turn his head away. From his position perched atop his seat added with the gorgeous backdrop, she knew it'd make a great photo. She snapped a picture regardless of his protests, smiling at the screen when she saw the outcome. She took a few more of Nate and Sully before placing the camera in her lap.
"What, we have to pose but you don't?" Sam took the camera from her fiddling with the buttons until he had it turned on.
"Oh no, I don't do pictures."
Penny turned fully in her seat so her back was facing Sam. She had thought he'd given up until his outstretched arm appeared beside her and he clicked the button.
"Hey! That's cheating!" She took her camera back, hiding a smile when she saw the picture. Sam was behind her with a grin on his face as her own suprised expression was just turning to the lens.
"I want a copy of that one, doll."
The first tower they found was Christopher Condent's which, unfortunately, happened to be empty but Penny managed to take some more photos. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but use Sam as her model. Of course when he noticed her he turned away or pushed the camera away and Penny was almost certain she saw him blush once. And on one or two occasions he took it from her completely and turned it on her.
She couldn't deny that he was a very handsome man. She would've expected someone who spent the last fifteen years in prison to be a little more worn and weathered but it seemed that the years had been kind to Sam Drake. He was the very definition of tall, dark and handsome. But underneath he was just as dorky and obsessed with pirate history as she was. The only issue was that with her lack of experience she couldn't tell if his flirting was genuine interest in her or just his nature.
After Condent's tower there was a run in with Shoreline. With a combination of stealth and teamwork, they managed to come out on top.
"God damn it... Rafe and Nadine must have dozens of guys out here. They could just stumble onto the treasure through blind luck."
"I don't think these guys would know the treasure if it spat in their face." Penny sighed, replacing her pistol in her thigh holster. "They don't seem to have two brain cells to rub together, if they did they wouldn't be using dynamite for every damn thing."
They were soon back in the jeep and watching Shoreline, using said dynamite, all over the volcano.
"Hey Sam." Sully called over his shoulder. "If you don't mind me asking, how'd you pass the time in prison?" Penny peered across her seat at the eldest Drake, her interest piqued.
"Ah, y'know... Reading, mostly. There was this one guard, saw me as a charity case, I guess. He'd check out books from the library for me."
"So what'd you read?"
"History, especially everything related to Avery and other pirates... just in case, you know."
"Sure."
"You know, besides books... push-ups, smoking, trying to stay out of fights between rival gangs... Just a whole lot of thinking. That's pretty much it."
Penny was craving to ask what he thought about, besides Avery, but she bit her tongue. She hadn't known Sam long enough to go poking her nose into his personal business and she doubted he'd tell her if she did.
At Anne Bonny's tower Penny had little bit of a fan girl moment which Sam enjoyed watching.
"Anne Bonny. Seriously, I'm standing right where she would've stood." Penny circled the sigil on the floor in awe. "This is so cool... How can you be so relaxed about all of this?"
"I keep it on the inside." Sam shrugged, an amused smile on his face. "But when we do find the treasure... It might surface."
"Yeah I'll bet." She giggled. "Victory dances for days, huh?"
"Something like that."
After yet another encounter with Shoreline and a narrowly avoided fall from the jeep whilst suspended from a tree, in which Sam recited a hail Mary which Penny would've found comical, had she not been hanging over the side of a cliff, they arrived at the biggest tower yet.
Sam went rushing ahead once inside and Penny couldn't help but smile at the sudden appearance of his so called, 'beneath the surface' excitement. When the rest of the group finally caught up to him, they were in a huge room with stone arches and a carved wall depicting Saint Dismas which they found to be map with twelve towers. Nate narrowed it down to a choice of two towers, after another fight, of course.
"All right. Me and Penny will take this tower. You and Sully, you take that one." Sam instructed, pointing to each member of their team.
"No, no, no, no. Rafe's guys are all over these towers by now." Nate protested.
"Exactly. So if we wanna have a chance to catch them, then we've gotta split up."
"Sam, just hold up a second, will ya?"
"Nate, he's right. These towers are at opposite ends of Kings Bay." Sully tried as Sam held his arms up expectantly.
"Damn it."
"Don't worry, I won't let your big brother get shot." Penny gave Nate's shoulder a comforting squeeze as she passed him to head out to the jeep.
Driving across Kings Bay to the tower, Penny realised that this was the first time she and Sam had been completely alone together and that thought alone was making her mind swim. She could ask him anything without fear of Nate or Sully over hearing and yet there was only one thing on the tip of her tongue.
"So... Your tattoo." She began, pushing her sunglasses up to rest on top of her head. "Is it just random or is there meaning behind it, free bird?" She smiled.
"Free bird?" Sam glanced over at her as he subconsciously scratched at the inked skin of his neck.
"Hang on."
Penny dug in her pocket and pulled out her iPod, shuffling across the seat to push an earbud into Sam's ear whilst she used the other. She pushed a few buttons until a song began.
"Lynrd Skynrd." She commented, silencing herself as they listened to the words.
~If I leave here tomorrow would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now, 'cause there's too many places I've got to see.~
~But if I stayed here with you, girl, things just couldn't be the I'm as free as a bird now, and this bird you can not change~
~Bye, bye, baby, it's been a sweet love, yeah, though this feeling I can't change. But please don't take it so badly, cause Lord knows I'm to blame.~
"Good song." Sam smiled once it had finished. "It's not me though. I'd rather travel with my girl."
"A hopeless romantic, huh?" Penny smiled feeling more at ease with Sam than usual. She felt her nerves easing as they spoke.
"It was, uh..." Sam paused, lips pursed as he watched the road. "It was before I lost hope." He confessed. "A year or so after Nate and Rafe got out. Birds in flight... Freedom." He paused, refusing to meet her eye before he cleared his throat. "What about you, got any ink?"
"Four." She could sense his discomfort and let him roll with the conversation shift.
"Oh really?" He arched an eyebrow. "The young curator has a rebellious side."
"Well she ran away with three older guys to go treasure hunting so... I'd say so, yeah." She giggled, falling back in her seat as they hit a bump.
"Well, what have you got?"
"I have a violet on my ankle and-"
"Why?"
"My grandmothers middle name was violet." Penny sighed. "I never knew her... We'll I did but I don't remember her."
"What else?" Sam asked, brushing over the subject of deceased relatives.
"Um... I've got an outline of a moon on the back of my neck... No real reason, I just like the moon I guess. Plus I was eighteen and thought it's be cool."
She turned a little in her seat and leant her head forward so the inking was visible. She felt the car slow a little as rough, calloused fingers ghosted across the image and suddenly it was as though the skin were just as sensitive and tender as it had been when she'd had it done six years previous.
"Roses." She blurted, turning back to face him. "I have pink roses on my leg cause they're my favorite flower and an anchor on my ribs." She shrugged at his smirk. "I was nineteen and a walking cliche, give me a break, Samuel."
"Samuel?" Another raised eyebrow. "Oh, I like that... With your accent, that sounds great."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"You should, sweetheart. I'm keeping a mental note of when you blush at the nicknames I give you." He grinned. "Just so happens, you blush at all of 'em."
"I do not."
"Of course not." Sam winked, putting the car into park. "We're here by the way."
As they walked around the tower, looking for clues or just anything with a sigil, Sam decided continued their conversation.
"Hey, were you being serious last night?" He called from the opposite side of the room.
"About?" She called back, turning to face him.
"Being a virgin."
Penny almost choked, stammering over her words as she tried to form a coherent sentence. Had she seriously been drunk enough to tell them that? She felt that familiar need for a hole to open up in the ground when Sam began to chuckle to himself.
"So that's a yes then. You ever kissed anyone?"
Penny remained silent, unable to turn away from Sam as he crossed the room. He stopped only when he was toe to toe with her, looking down at her much smaller frame. He couldn't help but think the red in her cheeks only made her look more adorable than usual.
"We'll, if you ever want the practice, I'm your man."
The light blush she was already sporting sparked into a furious red that filled up the entirety of her face. Sam opened his mouth to say something as his phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from Nathan provided the distraction Penny needed as she moved to the nearest open window and tried to cool herself down. She could hear Sam talking on the phone behind her but she couldn't calm the loud beating of her heart from the previous close proximity.
"Hey, this place is a bust. We gotta head over to Nathan and Sully."
She nodded and they both begun to find their way to the ground floor of the tower. As they did, Sam just couldn't resist saying something more.
"In all seriousness thought, how come you've never been with anyone? It's not like you couldn't if you wanted to." He commented. "Not found mister right yet?"
"It's not that." Penny murmured. "My parents are-"
"Say no more. I've got the picture about them already." Sam hopped to the floor, gesturing for Penny to do the same, steadying her as she landed.
"They were like, one tradition away from an arranged marriage." She laughed, thankful that he was no longer teasing.
As they headed back to their jeep, Sam was taking another call with Nate. As he hung up, saying that Nate said to stay where there's a signal, Penny spotted a familiar uniform waiting by their car. Thankful she'd left her bag in Nate's car, she grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him back against the side of the building.
"You want that practice time so soon?" He gave her that painfully familiar crooked smirk.
"Shoreline." She nodded her head to the men, pacing around, clearly waiting for their arrival.
"Shit." Sam turned, quickly looking for a way out. "There, look." He pointed to an old looking motorcycle leant against a nearby building. "We'll have to use that and drive fast. Here," He pulled her gun from her thigh holster and placed it into her hand. "Keep us covered, ok?"
"I've got it." She nodded, ignoring the hammering of her heart, loud in her ears. "Let's go."